ALBAWABA - The Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement Sunday that Border Patrol agents killed five drug smugglers and injured four others while attempting to bring cocaine into the country from Syrian territory.
According to the statement, a military source in charge of the General Command of the Armed Forces stated that "the Eastern Military Zone, in coordination with the Military Security Services and the Anti-Drug Administration, foiled an attempt to infiltrate and smuggle large quantities of narcotic substances coming from Syrian territory".
"The operation killed five smugglers, injured four others and seized large quantities of drugs," the source said, adding that "the transfer of seizures to the competent authorities".
According to the source, "the armed forces continue to utilize all available tools and tactics to strike anyone who dares to tamper with Jordanian national security".
The operation comes just a day after the interior ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon convened in Amman on Sunday and decided to form a "joint liaison cell" to tackle cross-border drug smuggling among the four nations.
Jordan's Interior Minister, Mazen al-Faraya, announced the formation of a joint contact cell comprised of liaison officers from Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, intending to exchange experience on drug smuggling activities.
"The most important thing we agreed upon is the recognition of the problem and the agreement on the need to follow up on these meetings at the ministerial and technical levels," al-Faraya stated.
On February 7, the Jordanian army killed three drug smugglers, while on January 6, it killed five smugglers and captured 15 others.
Following clashes on the Jordan-Syria border on December 18, the Jordanian army captured nine smugglers in possession of different substances and firearms. Jordanian border guards were injured.
In the same month, there were three similar battles, one of which killed one Jordanian Border Guard soldier, injured another, and killed other smugglers, while the other two murdered four smugglers and injured many more.
